Solar Basics

It’s hard to deny the rising trend of extreme weather patterns in our world. The top 10 warmest years on record worldwide have all occurred since 1998, and the U.S. has experienced an increase in heavy precipitation and extreme temperatures in recent years.

We know the thought of repairing a complicated solar system can be frightening, but no worries if you have a SolarCity system! We cover all repairs in the rare event they’re needed.Hear our customers discuss maintenance in our video series to debunk myths about solar energy.

We get it. Some of you just don’t like the look of solar panels, but with our proprietary solar system mounting hardware, solar arrays look better than ever. And when you’re saving money every month, do you really want to call solar ugly?

We get a lot of questions about solar, naturally. So many, in fact, that we’ve decided to produce a new blog series dedicated to answering them. Introducing the Facts of Light – a place where you can inquire about all things solar, and find the information you need. Ok, first question:

A solar power system is customized for your home, so pricing and savings vary based on location, system size, government rebates and local utility rates. Savings on your total electricity costs is not guaranteed. Financing terms vary by location and are not available in all areas. $0 due upon contract signing and no security deposit required for leases and PPAs. A 3 kW system starts at $25-$100 per month with an annual increase of 0-2.9% each year for 20-30 years, on approved credit. SolarCity Corporation will repair or replace broken warranted components. SolarCity DBA Tesla Energy CA CSLB 888104, MA HIC 168572/EL-1136MR, other contractor licenses. SolarCity is not the lender and only the third party lender may approve, offer, or make a loan.

Savings based on SolarPPA and SolarLease customers with at least twelve months of billing data. Savings Rate calculated by subtracting PPA or equivalent lease kWh rate from relevant utility kWh rate. Savings calculated by multiplying actual kWh supplied by SolarCity in customers' first year times Savings Rate. Excludes fully or partially prepaid contracts.

Solar Bonds are debt securities issued by SolarCity. As with any investment, purchasing Solar Bonds involves risk. You must make your own decision about whether and how much to invest in Solar Bonds. SolarCity cannot make any investment recommendations or otherwise provide any investment advice. SolarCity has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for offerings to which information on this web site relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents SolarCity has filed with the SEC for more complete information about SolarCity and the offerings. You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC web site at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, you may obtain the prospectus relating to the Solar Bonds, and the pricing supplement relating to a particular series of Solar Bonds, at solarbonds.solarcity.com.

*Based on SolarCity average system size of 6 kW and 8,418 kWh average first year production degraded by .5% annually over 30 years. Environmental benefits based on data collected from: Environmental Protection Agency, US Geological Survey, Global ReLeaf, and National Geographic April 2014.